Source metadata
- Type: Lecture series (PPTX slides)
- Module: CRE133 — Game Design Theory and Practice
- Programme: BSc (Hons) Game Design & Development
- Lectures extracted: Weeks 1–9 (Wk 10–12 not present in folder)
- Activity docs also present: Week 1–2 activity worksheets (MashUp, Tic-Tac-Toe, Economy, Kickstarter, Physics, Progression, Social, Tactical), Wk4 Thematics, Mario example, Game Genre Choices, Tic-Tac-Toe Analysis
Module content plan
| Week | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Intro to Game Design — games vs. play, history, genres, gamification |
| 2 | MDA — Mechanics (Physics/Economy/Progression/Tactical/Social), Dynamics, Aesthetics |
| 3 | The Player Model & Interaction Loops — player model, LDARF loop, skill chain |
| 4 | Control, Agency, Presence, Immersion & Flow |
| 5 | Character, Level & World Design — archetypes, aesthetics, level structure, convexity, world building |
| 6 | Patterns, Puzzles, Chance & Uncertainty |
| 7 | The Vertical Slice |
| 8 | Ideation, Brainstorming, Tools, Documentation & Project Management |
| 9 | Psychology of Game Design — SDT, player rewards, retention, loss aversion, GOLF |
| 10 | Storytelling / Narrative + Hero’s Journey (slides not present) |
| 11 | Feedback Types (slides not present) |
| 12 | Progression (slides not present) |
Key takeaways
- Player model: Player is driven to learn new skills of high perceived value; pleasure derives from successful skill acquisition (links Koster’s pattern-learning to a practical design model)
- Interaction loop (LDARF): Learn → Decide → Action → Rules → Feedback — the atomic unit of gameplay; skill chains link these loops into a directed graph of escalating mastery
- Skill status states: Mastered, Partially Mastered, Active (grind), Unexercised, Burned Out — each with diagnostic implications for game design
- Control types: Direct (real-time), Indirect (strategic/delayed), Scripted (QTEs/branching)
- Agency types: Narrative, Mechanical, Social, Economic — four distinct dimensions in which players feel consequential
- Presence: Spatial (“I am in this world”), Social (“I am interacting with other minds”), Self (“I am this character”) — distinct from immersion
- Immersion types: Tactical (moment-to-moment), Strategic (long-term), Narrative (story-world engagement)
- Synergy chain: Control → Agency → Presence → Immersion → Flow — each element reinforces the next
- Convexity design: Linear structure with non-linear content; starts narrow (few choices) and widens as player skill develops — effective marriage of flow theory and level structure
- Vertical slice: A polished, representative portion of a final game used for validation, resource assessment, and stakeholder confidence; not a prototype
- Documentation types: HCD, Pitch Doc, GDD, Art Bible, Story Bible, Feature Spec, Technical Design Doc — each with distinct audience and purpose
- Self-determination theory: Competence + Autonomy + Relatedness as the three intrinsic needs underpinning sustainable engagement
- GOLF framework (Charles 2009): Fun, Identity, Social, Challenge, Feedback, Structure — a game-oriented learning framework grounded in game absorption techniques
- Loss aversion & sunk cost: Psychological mechanisms actively exploited in game design to drive retention
Notable claims (direct or close paraphrase)
“The player is an entity that is driven, consciously or subconsciously, to learn new skills high in perceived value. They gain pleasure from successfully acquiring skills.” — CRE133 Wk3
“A convexity can be described as a linear structure with non-linear content. At the start of a game the player is provided with as little as one choice which consecutively leads to more meaningful choices.” — CRE133 Wk5
“A vertical slice is a portion of a game that demonstrates the key features, gameplay mechanics, visuals, and audio to provide a representative experience of the final product.” — CRE133 Wk7
“Grokking is delightful: to understand profoundly and intuitively. Gaining a tool to get you what you want is delightful. A piece of what we call fun is this moment of understanding.” — CRE133 Wk3 (citing Koster)
Relevance
This source grounds a significant set of new game design concept pages and enriches several existing ones. The interaction loop / skill chain model (Wk3) and the Control/Agency/Presence/Immersion/Flow synergy model (Wk4) are particularly rich frameworks not covered by existing textbook sources. The vertical slice (Wk7) and documentation types (Wk8) fill production-side gaps.
Links
Pages grounded by this source:
- interaction-loops — player model, LDARF loop, skill chain, skill status, skill failure
- presence-and-immersion — presence types, immersion types, control types, synergy model
- vertical-slice — definition, components, creation process, case studies
- patterns-puzzles-chance — spatial/temporal/behavioural patterns, puzzle types, chance, uncertainty
- game-design-documentation — document types, purposes, pipeline
- self-determination-theory — SDT, GOLF, loss aversion, player transformation
- game-definition — enriched with multiple game definitions
- player-agency — enriched with 4 agency types and 3 control types
- level-design — enriched with convexity design and level structure taxonomy